Energy response and fast timing characteristics of 1.5′′ x 1.5′′ CeBr3 scintillator

The present work reports the performance of 1.5′′ x 1.5′′ CeBr3 cylindrical fast scintillator detectors, coupled to the Photomultiplier Tube (PMT) Hamamatsu R13089-100. The detectors are characterized with respect to the energy linearity response, energy resolution, absolute photopeak efficiency and time resolution, using standard radioactive sources. The energy spectra recorded for different radioactive sources and the absolute photopeak efficiency at different source-to-detector distances are compared with the GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation. The best time resolution of 141(1) ps, measured for the 1173–1332 keV prompt γ-ray cascade for a single 1.5′′ x 1.5′′ CeBr3 detector, is reported from the present work. The results are compared with the values reported for similar detectors of different sizes.